Blackdon
History of Blackdon Early History (530-542) Blackdon is known as the most diverse Kingdom of the three human kingdoms. This fact is partially due to its early history. Long before a king was crowned, the land that now makes up the Kingdom of Blackdon was inhabited by an array of scattered tribes, all with their own unique culture. The men of these tribes were godless with no masters or rulers. However, there was one tribe in particular that did have a single man that everyone looked up to as their Chief; Prince Blackdon. The Prince Blackdon was brother of the King Louis Knivesmen of Lannon, a kingdom that long existed, who came to the land North of their kingdom as a missionary and a prophet. The tribe was so easily united under this foreign prince because of their unified belief in what Prince Blackdon called 'The Light.' It was this same religion that the Kingdom of Lannon was long united under. It was rumored that Prince Blackdon was granted holy magic by The Light and through that he was both head of tribal and religious authority. By the year 530, he was building churches and holds in the name of the Light and his power grew. Tribes around him took note of the Prince's wisdom and would swear fealty to a chief so great. The Prince Blackdon would declare independence from Lannon in the name of The Light as to establish another holy kingdom of virtue. The King of Lannon, his brother, would accept creating the Sister Kingdom of Blackdon in 542. Fall of the Knivesmen Dynasty (623) The Knivesmen dynasty ruled both Lannon and Blackdon for nearly 200 years and some of the noble families of Blackdon felt it was time for a change. The strongest duke of Blackdon, Duke Newdegate, was the leader of that movement. In 623, he succesfully turned the favor of all of the King's vassals and in a swift civil war, Duke Charles Newdegate was crowned the new King of Blackdon and from there the Newdegate dynasty reigned over Blackdon. Warding the South (722-734) Nearly a hundred years after the Newdegate dynasty took the crown of Blackdon, the Knivesmen dynasty to the south in Lannon felt it was time to take back what was theirs. Without warning, King Francis IV of Lannon and his men marched northward towards the capital of Blackdon. King Charles Newdegate had no time to gather his men for war and because of that many of the King's southermost lands were claimed by the Lannonese King, Francis IV. By 728, the Lannonese converted the Blackdonian's captured forts into forts of their own and were ready to march on. Alas, in the South the Boewenese people established a group of Crusaders who wished to establish a holy Kingdom in the name of the Light rather than be oppressed by Dark cultists any more. Lannon, being the head of the church, took it upon themselves to help the Boewenese Crusaders. King Charles III of Blackdon's morals were debatable. Instead of calling a temporary peace in the war to unite under the Light, he launched an offensive on the Lannonese invaders. His army took back everything the Lannonese took and then some of Lannon's land. Too preoccupied with matters in Boewen, Lannon was forced to surrender and Blackdon became the largest kingdom in borders and power in 734. Second Blackdonian Civil War (736-743) While the move King Charles III made was the best move in Blackdonian history, successfully establishing the kingdom as the strongest in the world, the morality was questionable to those most loyal to the light. In 736 a knight named Sir Henry Lightborne The Holy led a movement on behalf of those most loyal to the light. In a seven year conflict, the knights most loyal to the Light and the peasantry alone was able to fight off the King's army, killing the king and establish Henry Lightborne as King Henry of Blackdon. The New Land (802) Henry Lightborne ruled for a very long time and his people loved him. In the last few years of his reign, he made a discovery that would change the world. Sending a fleet to explore further North in the ocean, they came across a new landmass. A colony was to be established in the name of the Light. News spread to the mainland of rich Emerald deposits and many people would travel to the newly established colony in search of riches or a new life. The Collapse of the Blackdonian Economy (813) Rebellious elements, hidden away in the cities of Blackdon, attacked the economy from within, raising the prices of food, weapons, and most commodities to ridiculously high values. Food riots began in the streets, which took most of the attention of the Blackdonian Guard, who became increasingly stretched thin. The Breakaway of Sodalis (814) Following the actions of an overzealous Paladin, the colony of Kingsmire took advantage of the collapse of the Blackdonian economy, and seceded from the Kingdom, forming their own realm of Sodalis. These dissatisfied colonists wished for a life of their own, away from the percieved tyranny of Blackdon, and took it, working with Smugglers, Thieves, Pirates, and a Traitor Regiment of the Blackdon Guard to fight off a Crusade, of which only a few ships actually reached the colony. The Crusade troops were butchered along with their leader, the Paladin Kaldor Draigo, and the people of Sodalis gained their 'freedom'. The Quelling of the Riots (817) Following the death of King Henry I in 815, Vance Lightborne was crowned as King Vance I of Blackdon. One of his first acts as King was to make use of what military strength was left to him to patrol the streets at all hours, and to suppress any sign of dissent. Among the events of this time, the Thieves Guild of Blackdon was rooted out and crushed, its members either fleeing to Sodalis, or dying at the block. Notably, the stand-in Guildmaster, Arvann Stern, was captured, questioned, and killed, but of the Guildmaster himself, The Viper, there was no sign. These military actions led to a view among the poor of Blackdon, of Sodalis being a haven of sorts from the oppressive nature of the new King. Those that could, attempted to flee to Sodalis. Lannonite Rebukes (832-849) Elements of the courts in Lannon saw the weakness of Blackdon as an opening, and having long dealt with the Boewenese insurgents, and recouped their military strength, turned their attention back to the lands taken by King Charles Newdegate III. Much of the land taken by Blackdon was again lost, as Lannonite regiments took land by the acre. Weakened by these encounters, King Vance I drew much of his strength back from the outerlands to bolster the defenses of settlements closer to home. Restablising the Economy (852) In time, King Vance I was able to entice trade back to his cities, and prices of commodities began to fall again. Vance was also able to increase the strength of his military, by offering rations to the families of low-earning men that signed up. Retaking Lost Land (854-863) King Vance, in the years leading up to his death, set a plan in motion that would allow Blackdon to recover some of its lost land. Lannonite regiments, dug in on the land they took, were taken utterly by surprise when Blackdonian soldiers began to take their lost forts back - from the inside - Using tunnels that Vance had ordered dug before his men fell back. Vance did not live to see the completion of his plan, as he passed away from illness in 857. His successor, King Henry Lightborne II, pressed the advantage, cutting off retreating Lannonite lines, and butchering them, rushing them with his reserves. He then made use of his full military might to fall upon the Lannonite reserves, taking a few forts further than Charles III. Regarding Rebels (876) Having regained stability in Blackdon, King Henry II turned his attention to Sodalis, and swore to retake it, sending scouts out, with refugees travelling illegally to Sodalis on smuggler ships. List of Monarchs Knivesmen Dynasty *King Blackdon I - 542-590 *King Blackdon II 'The Old' - 590-623 Newdegate Dynasty *King Charles I - 623-652 *King Charles II - 652-686 *King Charles III - 686-743 Lightborne Dynasty *King Henry I - 743-815 *King Vance I - 815-857 *King Henry II - 857-Present